OSCARS 2024

 

In 2024 it was the 1970s again. During that decade, arguably the best ever for American movies, the movie gods aligned in a way that has not been seen before or since. Popular movies, that is movies seen by the most people in any given year, were also the most critically acclaimed movies, that is movies that won the most awards. This is rarer than you would imagine, and for the past two decades was almost a non-existent alignment. Virtually no one saw Moonlight or CODA for example. But Oppenheimer not only won Best Picture, but it also was one of the highest grossing movies of 2023 (also, see Barbie). Just like those 1970s Oscar darlings The Godfather, Star Wars, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Sting, Rocky, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Deer Hunter, The Godfather Part II, and Annie Hall, all of whom were in the top 50 highest grossing movies of the decade. And for the second year in a row and the third time in five years, my pick for Best Picture is the Best Picture. This is after I batted zero from 2005 to 2018. Yes, I picked Oppenheimer.

2024 was also notable in that I saw a majority of the movies that I reviewed at home and not in a theater. This has much to do with the birth of my first son, Hiro J Travis. Opportunities for date night, or just seeing movies by myself in theaters diminished. Hopefully, as he grows, and we find reliable babysitters, I will be able to see as many movies in theaters as I did before (what we need is a good movie theater in Ridgewood. Anyone? anyone?). But till, then, what I choose to review will actually be less about what I see in a theater and more about what I just watched and how interesting I thought it was. I'm aiming for at least 18-20 reviews a year. Watch out for that.

Best Original Screenplay

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari - Anatomy of a Fall

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach - Barbie

Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer - Maestro

Rebecca Miller - She Came to Me

Nicole Holofcener - You Hurt My Feelings

Best Adapted Screenplay

Ted Kupper and Jonas Karlsson - Corner Office

Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, and Martin Sherwin - Oppenheimer

Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese, David Grann - Killers of the Flower Moon

Tony Macnamara, Alastdair Gray - Poor Things

Priscilla Presley, Sandra Harmon, Sofia Coppola - Priscilla

Best Documentary

20 Days in Mariupol

The Pigeon Tunnel

Best Costumes

Barbie

John Wick: Chapter 4

Napoleon

Poor Things

Priscilla

Best Hairstyling/Makeup

Barbie

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Priscilla

Best Production Design

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Best Use of Cultural Appropriation

Anatomy of a Fall - Sandra Huller's Trilingual Performance

Barbie - Mattel's Barbie

History of the World Part II - George Wallace as George Wallace

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse - DaVinci Vulture

The Super Mario Bros Movie - Nintendo's Mario and Luigi

Best Original Score

Asteriod City

Corner Office

Oppenheimer

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Pigeon Tunnel

Best Sound Design

Beau is Afraid

Maestro

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

Oppenheimer

The Zone of Interest

Best Use of a Song

Anatomy of a Fall - Bacao Rythym and Steel's Cover of 50 Cent's PIMP

Barbie - "I'm Just Ken"

Maestro - Mahler: Symphony No. 2

The Iron Claw - Rush "Tom Sawyer"

They Cloned Tyrone - "They Cloned Tyrone"

Best Supporting Actress

Rina Sawayama - John Wick Chapter 4

Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer

Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers

Margo Martindale - Cocaine Bear

Marisa Tomei - She Came to Me

Best Supporting Actor

Donnie Yen - John Wick: Chapter 4

Robert Downey Jr. - Oppenheimer

Jamie Foxx - They Cloned Tyrone

Ryan Gosling - Barbie

Mark Ruffalo - Poor Things

Best Stunt Direction

John Wick: Chapter 4

Barbie

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part 1

The Killer

The Iron Claw

Best Visual Effects

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

John Wick: Chapter 4

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Best Cinematography

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Maestro

Priscilla

Poor Things

Best Film Editing

Anatomy of a Fall

Priscilla

Maestro

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Best Actor

Joaquin Phoenix - Beau is Afraid

Zac Efron - The Iron Claw

Bradley Cooper - Maestro

Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer

Peter Dinklage - She Came to Me

Best Actress

Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall

Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon

Emma Stone - Poor Things

Sydney Sweeney - Reality

Awkwafina - Quiz Lady

Best Director

Ari Aster - Beau is Afraid

Christopher Nolan - Oppenheimer

Martin Scorsese - Killers of the Flower Moon

Bradley Cooper - Maestro

Sofia Coppola - Priscilla

Best Picture

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Iron Claw

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Priscilla

John Wick: Chapter 4

You Hurt My Feelings

OSCARS 2022

I had a few things to say about the 2022 Oscars, although at this point, most of it has already been said a thousand times over. So I won't say anything about Will Smith and make a general complaint about something else entirely.

I have a big problem with the choice of "CODA" as Best Picture. It is not a problem with the movie. I have no opinion of the movie. I have not seen it. That is my complaint. The movie is hard to see. CODA exists entirely on Apple+ TV. It was never in any theaters and you cannot rent it on DVD, on YouTube, on Amazon, or anywhere else. There is only one place to see it, and you need a annual Apple+ subscription.

Way way back in the day, the Academy had this rule that all movies in contention for the Oscars needed a theatrical run. This theatrical run was limited but ostensibly, it meant that if you were looking for a movie, you could see it (if you lived in NYC or LA). If you didn't live in NYC or LA, at the least you could wait for the VHS/DVD release and see the movie. Those days are over and not coming back. I'm not saying we need to bring back that particular rule, but the idea behind the rule was sound: that is a celebrated movie should be able to be seen. You should be able to buy a ticket to or rent the thing. There needs to be some new rule that mandates all Oscar nominees should be available somewhere other than a closed streaming subscription service. If the Oscars are good for anything, it is to give suggestions to the audience as to what people who make movies think are good movies to see. If the movies cannot be seen, the Oscars truly are pointless, a vapid stew of pretension where rich and beautiful people complain about inequality in designer dresses. 

Here are my picks for 2022. The best that can be said about 2022 is that it was a better year than 2021, which was the worst ever. I have excised the categories for Animated film and Foreign Language film, perhaps permanently as they seem to be kids' table categories, and have added a category for Stunt Direction, an integral part of many movies which has been overlooked for way too long of a time. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Dune

Drive My Car

The Green Knight

House of Gucci

The Power of the Dog

Best Original Screenplay

The French Dispatch

A Hero

Licorice Pizza

Midnight Mass

Red Rocket

Best Production Design

Dune

The French Dispatch

The Green Knight

Spencer

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Costume Design

Dune

House of Gucci

Last Night in Soho

Nightmare Alley

Spencer

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Dune

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

The House of Gucci

The Green Knight

The Suicide Squad

Best Supporting Actress

Brenda Deiss - Red Rocket

Kirsten Dunst - The Power of the Dog

Vera Farmiga - The Many Saints of Newark

Meryl Streep - Don't Look Up

Marisa Tomei - Spider-Man: No Way home

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon - The Last Duel

David Dastmalchian - The Suicide Squad

Ethan Darbone - Red Rocket

Hamish Linklater - Midnight Mass

Jeffrey Wright - The French Dispatch

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Lady Gaga - House of Gucci

Alana Haim - Licorice Pizza

Frances McDormand - The Tragedy of MacBeth

Best Actor

Nicolas Cage - Pig

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Power of the Dog

Adam Driver - House of Gucci

Simon Rex - Red Rocket

Denzel Washington - The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Use of a Song in a Movie

“Nearer My God to Thee” – Midnight Mass

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” – The Eyes of Tammy Faye

“In the Heights” – In the Heights

“L’Ultima Volta” – The French Dispatch

Gym Dance “Mambo” - West Side Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xtkGKeccLI

Best Use of Cultural Appropriation

The Green Knight – Dev Patel

Midnight Mass – Catholicism and Vampires

The French Dispatch – The French Dispatch of the Kansas Evening Sun

Licorice Pizza – waterbeds, sushi bars, licorice pizza, L.A., the movies, Haim, hustlers

West Side Story – “America”

Best Visual Effects

Black Widow

The Suicide Squad

No Time to Die

Dune

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Best Stunt Direction

Black Widow

The Suicide Squad

No Time to Die

Dune

Red Notice

Best Film Editing

No Time to Die

Dune

The French Dispatch

The Power of the Dog

Red Rocket

Best Sound

Dune

No Time to Die

The Power of the Dog

The Green Knight

West Side Story

Best Cinematography

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Red Rocket

The Power of the Dog

The French Dispatch

The Green Knight

Best Director

The Green Knight – David Lowery

Dune – Denis Villeneuve

The French Dispatch – Wes Anderson

The Power of the Dog – Janet Campion

Red Rocket – Sean Baker

Best Picture

Pig

The Green Knight

Midnight Mass

Dune

The French Dispatch

The Power of the Dog

Licorice Pizza

Red Rocket

The Tragedy of Macbeth

A Hero